Bitter neighbours battle for Sydney hearts and minds

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The on-court duel between the Kings and Razorbacks tonight is
unlikely to be as heated as their battle for the hearts of
Sydneysiders, with both teams bickering this week over which side
was the people's team.

West Sydney have traditionally played up their westie
credentials and yesterday the club's chief executive, Robbie Cadee,
defended captain Scott McGregor, who reportedly referred to the
Kings as "wankers" this week.

The Pigs are still smarting from comments Kings coach Brian
Goorjian made two years ago.

"He painted his team as well-off, well-dressed and boasting
good-looking girlfriends while inferring that westies were ugly and
uneducated," Cadee said.

"I've got to tell you, Scott McGregor's not the only person who
thinks they're up themselves."

But Kings forward Ben Knight, who grew up in St Marys, said the
Kings had more claim to the western suburbs.

"We cover all of Sydney. We're not just the city," Knight
said.

"None of them [comes from] west of Homebush or Parramatta
so it's a bit funny.

"If you're talking real west in Sydney, there's myself and
Anthony Susnjava, who comes from Blacktown. We have a joke all the
time, how the west is the best.

"Maybe [the Razorbacks] just need to get numbers for their
games."

The Kings are also struggling to pull the crowds they once
enjoyed, but there are hopes for the local derby.

The Kings are second on the NBL ladder and the Razorbacks second
last after being trounced 106-77 in a home match against the
Melbourne Tigers on Wednesday night.

Knight said the Kings' home advantage was always diminished when
they played the Pigs but that wouldn't make much difference judging
by the two sides' recent form.

"We've got a little roll going now and I guess West Sydney are
struggling. It was good for us to win five straight and watch them
lose at home," he said. "Melbourne are a pretty good team
[but] West Sydney just looked bad, we thought. No matter how much
you love basketball, we wanted to flick it off. It was just bad,
just boring."

But McGregor was more subdued yesterday about the inter-team
rivalry and eager to take the contest to the court.

"Obviously they're defending champions and every team wants to
knock them off, and we're not different," McGregor said.